Title: Between the LivesAuthor: Jessica ShirvingtonPublisher: HarperCollins AustraliaGenre: YA, romance, science fictionNOT IN SERIESRelease Date: May 1, 2013Pages: 336 (paperback)How I Got the Book: Received from publisher in exchange for honest review

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer.And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is…

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life – a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted… But just what – and who – is she really risking?

﻿

Thank you HarperCollins Australia for sending me that copy. No compensation was given or taken to alter this review.

‘”I want to know that if I drift off to sleep by accident one day, I’ll wake up in the same place. I want to live each day once, the best that I can live it.

A powerful book about love or life, Jessica Shirvington introduces readers once again to an intriguing and heart breaking world. While I felt there were somethings I wanted more depth in and for the characters to be more likeable, Between The Lives was a great success that was extremely addictive. One word to describe this book would be; beautiful.

Sabine lives two worlds. In one life (Wellesley) she is rich, has a perfect boyfriend and respected; in the other(Roxbury), she is low on money and her life is rather glum. She lives each day twice, once in each of her words, shifting back at 12:00 am every 24 hours. But when Sabine realises that there has been a glitch, her secret becomes exposed and Sabine must choose between life or death, perfect love or life. Sometimes, the smallest things matter greatly.

The characters, on majority were rather loveable and relatable. The only flaw I with Sabine was that she never seemed to shut up. She constantly talked for an entire page and I just felt overloaded and confused as she was the main source of info dumping. Other than that, Sabine was pretty close to perfect for someone who managed to change her personality and image in her completely opposite lives. She was sensitive but it was honest and comprehendible in Sabine’s circumstances.

Ethan was my absolute favourite character. Not only was he creepishly dark and interesting to read about, but also he was easy to relate and admire. He was smart about the way he accomplished things and wasn’t naive, but not irritating for being too stubbornly obstinate simultaneously. Jess created such a fascinating supporting character that I simply just fell in love with. One tiny complaint could only be that his way of sharing emotions was rather poor but in the end, and I repeat, in the end, Jess assures us that we will have some sort of satisfaction in one form of another.

I was completely blown away with the romance, it was heart-wrenchingly exquisite. Sabine and Ethan are one of the best literary couples I’ve come across in some time (meaning 3 months) and I simply relished those ravishing scenes. It not only broke my heart, but also opened my eyes that not everything will always go as planned, but in somehow,there is always light in every dark situation. *dies of feels*

‘”I’m ready, Ethan. You were right. I WAS lost. But you found me, between the lives.”‘ This quote would have to be my star. It is just another example of how beautiful this book is and the prose- oh the prose is magnificent. I cannot press how much the writing skills Jess showed off impacted me. I seriously cannot get over it.

Two major flaws: 1) The plot. I enjoyed about, 75% of the plot. Jess caught me into this skilfully crafted world gorgeously but what I thought afterwards, in my own smarminess of a summary. A girl who lives in two worlds and tries to kill herself with these unnecessary experiments. In brief, that is pretty much what happened, but Jess just managed to steer slightly away from that problem.2) The unanswered questions. I am constantly annoyed when I am left with unanswered questions from books. What I really wanted to I so was Why does only Sabine have two lives?How did it happen? Quite frankly, this was not answered properly.

All in all, Between The Lives was an earth shattering book that really threw my emotions onto the line. I adore Jess’ work and will be eager to see more books like these getting written. A story about perfect love or life, this explores hidden emotions and really makes readers think. I recommend to staplers of Jess’ The Violet Eden Chapters’ as this will cure the thirst and other books with alternate worlds because this, was just as good as any of them. Of course, if you were not a fan of Jess’ previous novels, I can still assure you that this may change your decision with large velocity.﻿

Melanie is one of the totally fabulous bloggers at YA Midnight Reads. She's a 16 year old student from Melbourne, Australia. She is normally found binge watching TV series, reading , blogging, procrastinating or fangirling about how Percabeth is the best ship ever. She's also a lover of caps lock and uses it excessively.

Want more posts like this?

25 Responses to Between the Lives By Jessica Shirvington (ARC)

This sounds really good, but I would want to know why she has the two different lives and stuff too. That’s one of my biggest issues with books, is not knowing the why of how things got to be the way they are. Great review!!

Ohhh goodness! I have been excited for this one since the cover reveal and now I am even more excited. I love Shirvingtons Violet Eden Chapters so of course I can’t wait to read what she can do in the contemporary world. I love the idea behind it! Oh man I am gushing and I haven’t even read it. Anyway I am happy that you liked it overall except for her constant talking and wanting answers, I’m sure it’ll probably end up being a series and you’ll get them. Everything is a series these days! Fabulous review, Melanie!

This sounds really interesting, i like the idea of her living each day in 2 different lives, whereas usually you just get 2 completely different lives. I’d like to read it and see for myself how it’s handled.

Fantastic interview Melanie I’m glad you enjoyed this one!! The story sounds really beautiful, but I am worried about the plot and the amount of questions and plot holes it has. I’m a plot-centric reader more than anything so I might skip this one because of that concern, but overall I’m glad you loved the romance and this book in general! It looks really intriguing 🙂

I haven’t heard anything about this book but it definitely sounds interesting. Having to live two lives everyday would be crazy and confusing. Sabine and Ethan sound like a great couple and I would love to see how their whole romance works out within the craziness of living two lives.

This is the punish Unternehmercoach Marie-Luise Berrang bekÃƒÂ¤mpft den inneren Schweinehund | Marie-Luise Berrang – Uneomnehrerctaching diary for anyone who wants to essay out out virtually this issue. You note so such its almost debilitating to discourse with you (not that I rattling would wantâ€¦HaHa). You definitely put a new whirl on a message thats been engrossed virtually for life. Prissy stuff, but uppercase!

Every time I think I’ve given up birding forever, Curvirostra comes along with something like this, the enchanting Swainson’s Thrush. After listening to the delightful audio, I realized that I hear those soul-stirring sounds again and again and now I’m reminded once again of their shy, secretive source. Thanks again, Adrienne. I love you completely.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

Midnightians

Melanie is a 16 year old student from Melbourne, Australia. She's known as that crazy melodramatic fangirl to her friends and loves spending her time procrastinating, fangirling over Percabeth, wasting her life away on Twitter and reading (duh). Addictions include gummy bears, ice-cream, coffee and binge-watching TV shows. Friends, New Girl, The 100, HTGAWM and Sherlock are her true loves.

Celine is 18 years old and from the Netherlands. She's been a reader for as long as she can remember, and she believes she will be one forever. Though books will forever remain her number one, she also loves food, singing like no one's listening (even though they probably are), dancing like no one's watching (in her dance class, AKA where people are definitely watching) and doodling on every place that can and can't be doodled on.